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Like thousands of her teaching colleagues across the country, Donegal footballer Emer Gallagher quickly became accustomed to education from a distance.

Zoom and Google Classroom have replaced the whiteboard, the personal touch and the vital face-to-face interaction with her students.

A secondary school teacher at Loreto Secondary School, Letterkenny, Gallagher (25) is one of Lidl’s One Good Club ambassadors, and the Irish teacher understands how tough the last few months have been for her students - and teachers.

“To be honest I have never been as busy. It’s been a huge learning experience for me. I have nearly raided every educational app that’s out there in the last few weeks, just trying to give the kids the best experience they can get at this time,” said Gallagher.

“There’s definitely a lot more prep work, you have to have everything ready to go before you go online. But it’s so hard to feel like you are speaking to all the kids through your lessons. It’s just not the same as the classroom environment.

“I just feel so bad for them, especially my Leaving Certs: they don’t know what to expect. I can just imagine how hard it is for them to keep motivated, especially with the extended deadline of two months for their exams.

“I’d like to think they could reach out to me if they are finding it difficult. They are great girls, they are very hard working and I have a bond with them. I’d like to think that if they are finding things hard that they can contact me one-on-one for a bit of guidance.”

Building a new house next door to her home-place is keeping Gallagher busy, while she has leant on sport to keep her mind fresh.

“I have never played such a range of sports in my life. We have brought out the badminton net, the tennis balls are out, the basketball too. We’re lucky, I live right in front of a lake as well so we have two kayaks too so I’m getting a wide range of sports in. I’m pretty much covered in that respect.

“You do miss the physical connection, just the craic and the banter that we have every night at training, but thanks to social media we have kept connected.”